Basra had been waiting for this.
Long before kickoff, you could feel it in the streets, in the noise around the stadium, and in the faces of the tens of thousands streaming into the ground. This wasn’t just a football match - it was a national reckoning with a dream that had been deferred for nearly four decades.
Iraq came into the second leg of their Asian World Cup qualifiers playoff against the UAE with everything on the line. A 1–1 draw in Abu Dhabi left the door cracked open, but only slightly. There were away goals to consider, extra time if needed, and penalties if fate demanded it. Most importantly, there were at least 66,000 Iraqis in the stands, ready to carry this team with every breath.
This was the very definition of a “be-all or end-all” night: Iraq, longing for a first World Cup appearance since 1986, hosting a decisive match on home soil - something that felt unthinkable less than a decade ago. A country scarred by war, displacement, and instability, finally welcoming continental football of the highest stakes. And a team made up of players, many of whom were born in Europe to refugee families, returning to represent the nation their parents were forced to flee.
On the other side stood the UAE, built on a very different model: a lineup featuring no fewer than nine naturalised players from Brazil and Africa: two footballing worlds, two footballing philosophies, and one golden ticket to the intercontinental playoffs between them.
Then Basra exploded.
The UAE stunned the stadium early in the second half, taking the lead in the 52nd minute via Caio Lucas. Suddenly, the dream was slipping away. But Iraq didn’t break; they rose. In the 66th minute, Mohanad Ali rose highest, heading home a perfect delivery from Amir Al-Ammari to level the match and reignite the night.
From then on, the match wasn’t played; it was survived. Tackles flew, emotions surged, every inch mattered. And then came the moment that will live forever.
Deep into stoppage time of extra time - around the 107th minute - VAR intervened. Penalty to Iraq. The kind of decision that rewrites destinies.
Amir Al-Ammari stepped up, placed the ball, and with every heart in Basra beating alongside him, fired it high into the net. Pandemonium. Release. History roaring back to life.
Iraq 2, UAE 1. Iraq 3, UAE 2 on aggregate. Iraq to the intercontinental playoff.
Why this matters
For Iraq, this isn’t just a sporting achievement. It is the culmination of years of struggle, hope, and stubborn belief. A milestone for a country that has fought to reclaim normalcy, dignity, and joy through football.
They will travel to Mexico in March for the intercontinental playoff, now just one game away from their first World Cup appearance since that iconic team of 1986. Their coach, Graham Arnold, already took Australia to the World Cup from this path last time around.
In Basra, the celebrations lasted long into the night. Not because qualification is assured — far from it — but because for the first time in a long time, Iraq can look forward and see possibility.
Nights like this are why football matters.
Nights like this are why nations believe.
And nights like this are exactly the stories we tell at BabaGol.
Iraq’s dream is alive — and it’s louder than ever.
Photo courtesy: The Asian Football Confederation official social channels
A dramatic 107th-minute penalty sends Iraq to the intercontinental playoff—now just one game from a first World Cup since 1986.